* * *
Kory was worried, or he'd never have asked to sleep in the same bed. I said yes, and honestly, I didn't care if he ended up asking for sex without a kiss.
He didn't, though. He just wrapped his arms around me and I fell asleep with my head on his shoulder.
We skipped to Tibby's suite the following morning to have breakfast with him; the weigh-in was scheduled at eight in the evening and there was still training to do before then.
Jamie stayed at our hotel, with Thomas and Sandra acting as guards for him, Klancy and Mason. The vamps had to be protected during the day, while they slept in darkened rooms.
* * *
Peru
Laurel
"Granger?" I held the phone tighter against my ear, attempting to get better reception.
"We have seen him," came through, but it was garbled.
"Who? Kory Wilson?"
"No. We saw germy."
"Germy? Who the hell is that?" I demanded.
"No need constipate."
"Constipate?"
"Concern yourself."
"Concern myself about what? What did you mean, constipate?"
"(Crackle) deal with germy."
"If germy makes you constipated, then deal with it," I shouted and ended the call.
* * *
Opal
"We ah, intercepted a call," Davis reported.
"From?"
"From the device in Charlene Devangi's hotel suite."
"What did you find out?"
"First, the call came minutes after sunset."
"All right," I said after thinking about it for a few seconds. "By a male?"
"Yes."
I spoke with Davis over the phone; we'd had a listening device planted in Charlene's room for barely a day and a half, by one of our agents posing as housekeeping staff.
"You think it's Granger, don't you? What was the message?"
"Somebody in their party has seen Jamie. They have plans to take care of the situation, if I heard right. Didn't have time to get a fix on where the call went, but we're working on that."
"If we had Granger's phone, it would be easy," I pointed out.
"You ready to take him on?"
"I see your point. Let me work on this, while you find a safe place to stash Jamie."
"Will do, boss."
"Kell," I said after Davis ended the call, "I need your help."
* * *
Kordevik
"We need someone to transport Jamie to this location," Davis showed me a map and photographs of the safe house.
"I can do that. When?"
"Now?"
"All right. This means I won't be at the weigh-in," I cautioned.
"I know. Lexsi will be there. I hope that's enough."
"Watch out for her," I said before skipping to our hotel to find Jamie.
* * *
Opal
"What did you just say?"
Davis was on the phone again. It wasn't good news.
Jamie had left the hotel suite, when he'd been told to stay put. According to Davis, Sandra was doing her best to explain to an angry High Demon that she hadn't thought anything of it when Jamie said he wanted to go downstairs to the casino for a few minutes. That had been half an hour ago. Sandra stayed behind, for no reason other than she wanted to talk to Mason after he woke.
I wanted to pound my forehead with a fist. I held off. "Tell her and the others to put their noses to work and find him. Pronto. If Granger finds him first, he's a dead man."
"Yeah. Got that, boss."
* * *
Jamie
It had been months since I'd had a cigar, and the wait for vampires to wake was boring enough. Nothing was on television worth watching, so I told Sandra I wanted to go downstairs for a minute or two.
No, I hadn't intended to stay gone so long, but the gift shop didn't have anything I wanted. The clerk told me that the brand of cigars I liked was sold at a casino six blocks away.
I hadn't had a long stroll in months, so I made the decision to go.
Halfway there, I realized I didn't have a phone or anything else on me. All I had was a temporary credit card that Opal had given me, in case I needed something.
I felt like cursing myself, but I was more than halfway to my destination when all those things finally hit me.
It's one thing to be young and stupid. It's worse to be old and stupid.
* * *
Kordevik
"Kory, stay here in case he comes back," Thomas said. "The rest of us will try tracking him by scent."
"Fine by me. I might consider punching him if I found him first," I said. I didn't try to hide the curls of smoke drifting from my nostrils. Lexsi would be at the weigh-in without me; Charlene and Hannah would certainly be there, and nobody knew who or what they could be bringing with them.
Yeah, I was pissed. One human could screw everything up and make everybody scramble, just to save his thoughtless ass.
Fuck.
I was mad enough to punch somebody through a wall, already. Therefore, when the door to the suite blew in and a vampire stepped into the room, I laughed as flames bloomed about me.
The laugh became a roar as my Thifilathi beckoned Granger forward. He wanted a fight?
He was about to get one.
* * *
Lexsi
"They strip down to their boxers?"
"Just watch," Anita soothed. "It may look like two roosters facing off after they weigh, but it's all a show."
"Right. Can we get any closer?"
The press of bodies around us thickened as Tibby shucked his jacket, shirt and warm-up pants before stepping on the scales.
"One hundred fifty-seven pounds for Tiburon, Snark Demonio, Diaz," somebody announced.
"Can you see?" Anita asked.
"I can't see anything," I huffed, attempting to wriggle forward in the crowd. I wasn't close enough to Lover Boy Landon to see if he were the real thing or whether he'd been replaced by someone else.
Go to mist, Anita suggested.
"Huh?" I blinked up at her as someone shoved into my back.
"Here." She jerked me in front of her, so nobody would see. I went to mist immediately and flew forward, to hang over Lover Boy's head.
He was the real deal, all right. I watched him remove his clothing before stepping onto the scale.
"One hundred fifty-nine for Lyle, Lover Boy, Landon," the man announced after examining the scale carefully.
The weight limit was one-sixty—Tibby had already explained that on the walk from the training facility.
Next came the stare off, while cameras were shoved in both faces.
We have a dilemma, Kell's voice sounded in my head. The hotel suite is on fire, and well, Kory is chasing Granger through Las Vegas in his smaller Thifilathi, which is on fire.
* * *
Kordevik
"Can you bury yourself more in a cliché?" I growled as I climbed a replica of the Empire State Building following Granger, whose claws helped him scale the vertical walls. I'd shut off most of my flames with much effort; my Thifilathi was so angry it wanted to burn half the city to kill Granger.
By this time, most of the city's news crews were likely on the scene, recording everything.
Fuck.
Here came another five-year sentence.
Granger reached a decorative window, pulled off chunks of it and threw them at me. My Thifilathi flamed again in response.
Climb faster, you idiot, someone spoke into my mind.
Opal.
Don't let him escape, someone else broke into the conversation.
Kell.
My claws on hands and feet bit into the façade of the building as I struggled up its height, following a vampire determined to elude my Thifilathi.
More detritus rained down on me as Granger became desperate. At least he had to stop for a second or two to claw out more of the façade to toss in my direction. I took the opportunity to leap and
claw, leap and claw, digging my claws deep on the second leap to keep from falling while loose debris rained onto the ground far below.
I'd made up some distance between Granger and me, though.
Vampires seldom show emotion. I could almost see the fear in Granger's eyes; that's how close we were.
The trouble was, we were nearly to the top of the building; it was angling inward, bringing new sets of obstacles before we reached the top. Many yards away, another casino tower jutted, but it would be a terrifying leap even for a vampire, from such a height.
One the other hand, I could fly.
I snapped my wings open. Fire outlined their edges. Shoving away from the building, I flapped furiously to hold myself aloft at my current elevation.
Granger looked back in alarm.
Yes, he was at the point where he'd have to jump. Having settled myself in the air, I made my body into a flying arrow and went for him.
He leapt toward the other building and screamed while he did it.
In midair, before I could reach him, he disappeared.
I have him, Kell shouted mentally.
I have you, Lexsi's voice surrounded me. Her mist extinguished my fire as I relaxed inside her invisibility.
Somewhere, far below us, a crowd cheered.
This was Vegas.
They'd just seen the show of a lifetime.
* * *
Lexsi
"Don't ask. If you don't, I don't have to answer," Opal held up a hand as I stared at the powerlight cage that held Granger. It took a powerful warlock or witch to build a powerlight cage. Once built, it would hold another witch, warlock, or a vampire, even. Granger would be electrocuted if he touched any of the glowing bars surrounding him.
"It's a gift—from a friend," Opal admitted. "That's all I can say right now."
We were back at the military facility where I'd dropped bodies a day or so earlier. With everything that had happened since then, it felt like weeks had passed.
At least Kory was back to normal, although he was dressed in borrowed sweats provided by the military facility.
"Don't worry, we're calling the whole thing a publicity stunt," Davis explained to Kory, who was concerned about what he'd done.
Truthfully, Kory had done what he could—all he could—to keep Granger from getting away. Granger hadn't gotten away, either. He was right there, trapped in an inexplicable powerlight cage.
Kory and I were surprised we hadn't nullified the thing when we stood close to it. Opal merely shrugged and didn't explain that part.
Frankly, I thought Kory should be commended for his tenacity in chasing down Granger, even if he did end up climbing a scale model of the Empire State Building and gouging out chunks of it with his claws while doing it.
Granger had done the same with his vampire claws, plus his claw marks were deeper. He frowned at me from his cage; I doubted he wanted to see me again like this—him in a cage while I stared and shook my head.
"Boss, call from Sandra and Mason," Davis held his cell phone out for Opal to take.
Opal said hello and then listened for several minutes with Davis' phone pressed against her ear.
She doesn't look happy, Kory sent.
I'd already figured that out—a tight frown tugged at her mouth. Whatever Sandra and Mason told her wasn't good news.
Opal stabbed the end call button with a finger before handing the phone back to Davis. "Photographs were just delivered to Tibby's suite," Opal said. "They're of Jamie. They have him, and they want to trade for Granger."
Chapter 9
Lexsi
"How and where did they find Jamie?" Kory asked.
"Sandra said his scent was mixed with two others—one of them vampire—outside a casino several blocks away from ours," Opal replied. "The scents disappear after that, so a car was likely involved in taking him away."
"We can get inside Charlene's suite," I offered.
"He's not there; we've got eyes inside and out of that place," Opal waved off my suggestion. "He's somewhere else, and who knows what shape he's in right now."
"I really don't want to let that bastard Granger go," Kory snorted smoke. "But if we have to, I want to make sure Jamie's alive and well, first."
"We're attempting to set up a location for the trade," Opal shook her head. "They'll kill him if we try anything other than a prisoner exchange."
"This is awful," I raked fingers through my hair. It was a tangled mess halfway down. No, I hadn't bothered looking in a mirror—too many things had happened since the weigh-in.
"You look fine," Kory pulled my fingers from my hair and set about combing his through it instead.
"We still don't know what they intend to pull during the fight," I began.
"Let's find out, shall we?" Kell walked past us to approach Granger's cage. Granger hissed at Kell the moment he came close—he knew by scent what Kell was.
Kell.
It hit me, then.
Kell was ancient. Very ancient as a vampire. The older the vamp, the stronger the compulsion. An older one would have a younger one doing cartwheels if he commanded it.
I doubted cartwheels were on Kell's mind, though. "You will do everything I say from this point forward," Kell's eyes locked with Granger's. I held my breath and watched as Granger's head dipped in an unwilling nod.
* * *
Opal
I sent everyone else out of the room except Lexsi and Kory, while Kell questioned Granger.
He didn't know specifics—he was centuries old as a vampire and wasn't ready to accept that people from other worlds had actually invaded his, with destruction on their minds.
Sure, somebody who Deris and Daris Arden worked for wanted to produce drakus seed. Granger didn't even know the name of the drug. He only knew it would fatten his bank accounts, none of which I could easily get to with mundane resources.
The name that troubled me most, however, was Morgett Blackmantle.
He was supposed to be dead. Currently and in the future. In fact, his death was reported long before his younger brother Hegatt died, more than twenty-thousand years in the past.
I figured he'd manufactured his death to escape the price the Reth Alliance had on his head. I needed information about Morgett, but had the idea that Kell could know more than I in this matter.
Kell.
Born on Hraede who knew how many thousands of years ago. He intrigued me in ways I couldn't describe.
What we did learn is this; Granger said that Laurel wanted Jamie brought to her in Peru. He'd had plans to do that for her.
I hoped we could interrupt those plans; Jamie would be very, very dead if he ever crossed Peru's borders. Laurel would see to it, Granger said.
Laurel was becoming more of a problem every day. I wondered how she felt about innocent civilians in Peru being tortured and killed by Loftin Qualls and Vic Malone. Granger also didn't know where the N'il Mo'erti were—he barely had information on them, other than they were some kind of new weapon to use against the enemy, although he did confirm that a single N'il Mo'erti was used in San Francisco.
There was a huge crater, still, on land outside San Francisco where a peaceful vineyard should be.
I still didn't know exactly how Lexsi had managed to destroy the thing, or if she were responsible for the crater and not the N'il Mo'erti.
Granger, we also learned, was of the lazy sort, who preferred to place compulsion on minions to do or get what he wanted. Kell had less respect for Granger after the questioning than he did at the start; therefore, that ran into negative territory at the end.
Planning an ambush, I think, Kell turned to look at me after he'd asked his last question of Granger.
During the exchange? I returned.
I believe so. Whoever goes with Granger to make the exchange will have to be wary.
I suggest somebody who doesn't mind that his allies are mist behind him, I suggested.
Yes, Kell's eyes nearly closed, acknowledging my assessment.
My worry is this, I said. That they won't bring the real Jamie.
That is my worry as well.
I'm also concerned that they may want to make the exchange while the fight is happening. We can't have our resources in two places.
True. It is something I would do if I were they.
You think Morgett is calling the shots?
Perhaps in the background. I doubt he will make himself visible for long. The Reth Alliance will search him out, no matter where he is—even on a non-Alliance world.
I'm not sure involving the Alliance Security Detail is a good idea. I didn't explain why, but that had already been attempted in the past, with disastrous results.
You're thinking in the past. Shall we consider the future? A slow smile spread across Kell's features. My breath stopped for a few seconds as I committed the sight to memory.
Let me think on that, I said. I knew whom I'd like to ask for help, but didn't know if it were even possible. Many, many strings would have to be pulled, but then again, we had Morgett Blackmantle to deal with. This was a rift in the past that definitely hadn't happened the first time around.
Or the second.
* * *
Lexsi
Kell and Opal held a private conversation in mindspeech after Kell questioned Granger. I didn't want to interfere with that, so I studied Granger while Kory's arms went around me and his chin settled on top of my head.
Granger knew less than I'd hoped about the business in Peru with Laurel and the others. I was beginning to suspect that each of the players from Earth knew some things but not all.
Granger had no idea that Deris and Daris were a powerful warlock and witch, although he'd seen them do things he couldn't explain.
I really, really needed Anita's opinion, since Granger could be obsessed by a Sirenali. Nobody currently in the room could tell. Granger could be centuries old and still susceptible to a Sirenali's words; not once had Granger mentioned anything about anyone capable of such things, although they had to have one at their disposal.
Kory and I stood close enough to Granger's cage to nullify any hidden spells placed on him. I worried that the information we'd gathered was obtained because we'd been that close. I surmised that hidden spells and an obsession could lie about Granger like a second skin, and we couldn't see or feel them.
More than enough to worry about, with Jamie in the hands of the enemy.
A Demon's Work Is Never Done: Latter Day Demons, Book 2 Page 12